ENSAPC - Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Arts Paris-Cergy

What ENSAPC - Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Arts Paris-Cergy does

ENSAPC (École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts Paris-Cergy) is a French public higher education institution specializing in contemporary arts, established in 1972 and reorganized as an Établissement Public Administratif (EPA) under the Ministry of Culture by decree n°2002-1515 of 23 December 2002, effective 1 January 2003. The school delivers a unified five-year curriculum leading to the DNSEP (Diplôme National Supérieur d'Expression Plastique), structured over 10 semesters and embedding a mandatory one-semester international mobility requirement. Its principal campus is in Cergy (Val-d'Oise) and it operates the Ygrec contemporary art centre in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis), which functions as a public-facing exhibition and programming venue hosting emerging artists, ENSAPC students, and graduates.

The institution's revenue model is dominated by public funding from the French Ministry of Culture, supplemented by support from the Île-de-France region and DRAC Île-de-France. ENSAPC also pursues competitive EU grants (notably the 2022 Creative Europe 'Culture.EUBalkans' project) and operates targeted post-master programs such as 'Art by Translation' (in partnership with ESAD TALM). Distribution is direct via national admission procedures for first-year entry and transfer admissions, plus Erasmus+ exchange channels. International partnerships span European art academies (Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, Städelschule, ESAD TALM), MIT, and Tainan National University of the Arts, supporting the school's international mobility mandate and collaborative exhibitions.

ENSAPC is led by Director Corinne Diserens (succeeding Sylvain Lizon) and a small senior team including the Artistic Director of Ygrec and Head of Communication and Patronage. The institution holds Afnor Diversité and Égalité professionnelle labels (since 2018), is a partner member of CY Cergy Paris Université's Graduate School in Humanities, Creation and Heritage, and is active in research via the RADIAN doctoral program. As a French public administrative establishment, ENSAPC is government-owned, non-traded, and not subject to conventional investor or M&A dynamics.

Name

ENSAPC - Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Arts Paris-Cergy

Legal name

École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts de Paris-Cergy

Website

https://ensapc.fr

Company type

Public

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ENSAPC is a French public art school under the Ministry of Culture, founded in 1972, offering a five-year DNSEP degree in contemporary arts from its Cergy campus and operating the Ygrec art centre in Aubervilliers for students, graduates, and emerging artists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cergy

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Public Government Funding: As a public higher education institution under the Ministry of Culture, ENSAPC operates primarily through government funding from the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. The school also receives support from regional authorities including the Île-de-France region and DRAC Île-de-France.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ENSAPC is a public French art school that delivers a five-year DNSEP degree program in contemporary visual arts, complemented by an attached exhibition venue (Centre d'art Ygrec-ENSAPC in Aubervilliers) and specialized post-master programs such as Art by Translation. It also supports artistic research through its RADIAN doctoral program and international exchanges through Erasmus+ and bilateral partnerships.

Product overview

ENSAPC is a public higher education institution for contemporary art, organized as an Établissement Public Administratif (EPA) under the French Ministry of Culture. The school offers a unified educational structure culminating in the DNSEP degree (10 semesters), with integrated international mobility requirements. Its portfolio includes the Ygrec Art Centre (housed at 29-31 rue Henri Barbusse, Aubervilliers) which provides exhibition space for emerging artists, students, and graduates. The institution also offers post-master's programs including 'Art by Translation' (current) and 'Moving Frontiers' (past), conducted in partnership with international art schools. Research activities are supported through doctoral programs like RADIAN.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Art by Translation: International post-master's program operated jointly with École supérieure des Beaux-Arts TALM, exploring the role of translation in the arts across three axes: translation processes and ideological issues in the arts, uses of documents and archives in artistic practice, and algorithms as a principle of cultural organization.
• Moving Frontiers

Products and services

• DNSEP Degree Program (Diplôme National Supérieur d'Expression Plastique) A 10-semester higher-education program in contemporary visual arts culminating in the DNSEP national diploma, with mandatory international mobility (at least one semester abroad) and integrated professionalization seminars, offered to students admitted through national first-year or transfer admissions.
• Art by Translation (Post-Master's Program) An international post-master's program created in partnership with École supérieure des Beaux-Arts TALM, exploring the role of translation in the arts across three axes: translation processes and ideological issues in arts, uses of documents and archives in contemporary artistic practice, and algorithms as a principle of cultural organization.
• Centre d'art Ygrec-ENSAPC (Exhibition Space) ENSAPC's attached contemporary-art centre that hosts exhibitions, performances, residencies and artistic programming, with exhibitions by ENSAPC professors, students and graduates as well as invited emerging artists; open Wednesday to Saturday 2pm-7pm.
• Moving Frontiers (Past Post-Master's Program) A past experimental international post-master platform created with Triennale SUD 2017 and Doual'art (Cameroon), structured around intensive time spaces where participants questioned aesthetic and theoretical limits and invented new practices.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CY Cergy Paris UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerENSAPC is a partner member of CY Cergy Paris University Graduate School Humanities, Creation and Heritage, which brings together UFRs in Human and Social Sciences and 4 partner schools including ENSAPC, École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Versailles, École nationale supérieure de paysage de Versailles, and Institut national du patrimoine.
• Akademie der Bildenden Künste MünchencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman art school partnership for collaborative projects including the 2026 exhibition 'Through a Glass, Darkly' exploring glass as artistic medium.
• École supérieure des Beaux-Arts TALMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for post-master program 'Art by Translation' along with ESAD TALM (Tours, Angers, Le Mans), focusing on translation processes in arts.
• Tainan National University of the Arts (Taiwan)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership for student exchanges and collaborative projects.
• Centre Pompidou (Paris)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuseum partnership for exhibitions and cultural programming.
• Théâtre de La Commune (Aubervilliers)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheatre partnership for events, seminars and artistic programming including the 2021 symposium on colonialism.
• Fondation Art ExploracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Creative Europe 2022 project 'Culture.EUBalkans' supporting artistic dialogue between EU and Western Balkans.
• Museum of Contemporary Art - MoCA SkopjecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Creative Europe 2022 project Culture.EUBalkans along with ENSAPC and Art Explora.
• Kosovo Oral History InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Creative Europe 2022 Culture.EUBalkans project focusing on oral history and cultural programming.
• Abbaye de MaubuissonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArt centre partnership for exhibitions including the Ângela Ferreira double exhibition in 2021.
• Palais de TokyominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContemporary art space partnership for events and discussions.
• Villa Kujoyama (Kyoto)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational residency program for artists.
• Erasmus+ ProgramcoreOthersENSAPC is signatory to Erasmus+ charter, enabling student and faculty mobility within Europe and providing grants for international exchanges.
• MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational university partnership for academic exchanges.
• Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtist residency and exhibition partnership.
• Université Paris 8minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership for academic exchanges and research.
• Städelschule (Frankfurt)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman art school partnership for student exchanges.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Akademie der Bildenden Künste München: Munich-based German state art academy and ENSAPC exchange partner (collaborating on the 2026 'Through a Glass, Darkly' exhibition). Comparable as a publicly funded European fine arts academy with a strong exhibition and international-mobility profile.
• École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs (Ensad): Paris-based French national school under the Ministry of Culture focused on art and design. Comparable as a sibling EPA institution delivering 5-year diplomas, exhibiting student work, and participating in Erasmus+ exchanges.
• Beaux-Arts de Marseille: French public fine arts school (École supérieure des beaux-arts de Marseille Métropole). Comparable as a regional public fine arts school under the Ministry of Culture with DNSEP program and attached gallery programming.
• École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA): Paris-based French national fine arts school under the Ministry of Culture. Closest direct peer: same national school system, same DNSEP-equivalent curriculum, and same public EPA-style governance as ENSAPC.
• Villa Arson: National art school in Nice under the Ministry of Culture. Comparable as a French public fine arts school delivering the DNSEP, with attached exhibition space and a contemporary-art focus similar to ENSAPC's Ygrec.
• Le Fresnoy – Studio National des Arts Contemporains: French national contemporary-art studio and post-diploma program under the Ministry of Culture. Comparable as a post-graduate/post-master art platform feeding into ENSAPC's emerging-artist ecosystem.
• ENSAD (École nationale supérieure d'art et de design) Nancy: French national art and design school in Nancy under the Ministry of Culture. Comparable as a sibling EPA institution with DNSEP-equivalent programs, applied-arts focus, and active exhibition programming.
• École supérieure des Beaux-Arts TALM (ESAD TALM): Multi-site French public fine arts school (Tours, Angers, Le Mans) under the Ministry of Culture. Co-runs the 'Art by Translation' post-master with ENSAPC, making it a direct peer in curriculum, governance, and contemporary-art focus.
• Städelschule: Frankfurt-based German fine arts academy with which ENSAPC holds an active student-exchange partnership. Comparable as an internationally oriented European fine arts school with similar experimental-curriculum ethos.

Regional players

• HEAD – Genève (Haute école d'art et de design): Swiss public fine arts and design school. Comparable in curriculum and contemporary-art orientation, but operating under Swiss (not French) higher-education governance and primarily serving the Geneva/Romandy market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ensapc---ecole-nationale-sup-rieure-d'arts-paris-cergy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ENSAPC - Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Arts Paris-Cergy